Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton holds up a football helmet as she returns to work Monday after being hospitalized for a blood clot. / State Department handout via AP

by David Jackson, USA TODAY

by David Jackson, USA TODAY

For the first time in a month, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is back at work.

Clinton, 65, held a meeting Monday with assistant secretaries of State. She was given a football helmet with the department's seal and blue football jersey with the number 112, reflecting the number of countries she's visited as the nation's top diplomat.

Clinton had been away from her job in Foggy Bottom for several weeks, first because of an illness, a concussion after a fall, and then a hospital stay because of a blood clot near her brain.

"She's looking forward to getting back to the office," State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said last week.

Clinton's schedule this week includes a meeting with Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai. She also told her aides that she intends to testify before Congress about a report on deadly violence at the U.S. Consulate in Libya.

The former first lady will continue to work at the State Department until her designated successor -- Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass. -- is confirmed, which is expected later this week.

Then starts more talk over whether Clinton -- defeated in the 2008 Democratic primaries by Barack Obama -- will seek the presidency again in 2016